Wood stoves

[Oaktree]

My soapstone heats for 12 hours..

I looked at soapstone stoves when I was shopping for the one I have now. Nice, but a bit pricey for my budget (and heavy too!!). Mine's cast iron (no lightweight either), and it holds heat for 12+ hours no problem.

A lot depends on what you burn. I feel bad for those who live where all you have is softwoods/conifers.

 

[atsah]

I looked at soapstone stoves when I was shopping for the one I have now. Nice, but a bit pricey for my budget (and heavy too!!). Mine's cast iron (no lightweight either), and it holds heat for 12+ hours no problem.

A lot depends on what you burn. I feel bad for those who live where all you have is softwoods/conifers.

They sure are heavy, Mine weights 600lb's and they are pricey are as well.. Yes the species of wood is what matters..

 

[Snobdds]

If a person only knows how pine burns, they don't know any different. We just adapt to what we have. I think pine is great to burn and it does the job well. You won't hear anyone out here complaining that they only have pine to burn, it's just how it is.

I see you guys having to cut down, buck up, and split these huge trees that can't even be lifted up on a splitter. Plus, we can have dry wood from a cut tree in about 6 months, due to the dryness out here.

So in the end, if I have to put one extra log on the fire in exchange for the less back breaking work and still get the same heat...I'm ok with it.

 

[atsah]

Alaska is the same.. Not everyone tries splitting two foot across logs, they go to the mills, most firewood is in 8-12inch across range, very manageable. Red oak and big beach is about the only species that need 12 months to dry.. That said, you burn what you have..

 

[cqaigy2]

Mostly burn fir, have some, maple, cherry and alder, drys pretty fast. The first oak i got took close to two years to dry. Probably would have dried fast if i'd split it first, but holy moly, green oak takes way to many wacks with a splitting axe, much easier after it had dried.

 

[Jstpssng]

Alaska is the same.. Not everyone tries splitting two foot across logs, they go to the mills, most firewood is in 8-12inch across range, very manageable. Red oak and big beach is about the only species that need 12 months to dry.. That said, you burn what you have..

That's the way I do it. Anything big enough to pile up fast goes to the pulp mill, the smaller trees which are in the way go to the firewood pile. Except for beech and rock maple, which do go for firewood.

 

[CalG]

There is more heat in a ton of pine than there is in a ton of most hardwoods.

It's just that that ton of pine is a good sized pile! ;-)

 

[Jstpssng]

There is more heat in a ton of pine than there is in a ton of most hardwoods.

It's just that that ton of pine is a good sized pile! ;-)

Pound for pound, there are the same BTU's in any species.

 

[atsah]

I actually Use dry pine and cedar for kindling.. A local mill gives it away..

 

[Oaktree]

There is more heat in a ton of pine than there is in a ton of most hardwoods.

I'll burn pine or spruce in the stove in my shop. It burns hot & fast, and that's what I want when I'm only in there for a few hours at a given time during the late fall/winter. I don't damp it down so creosote isn't an issue.

 

[wngsprd]

We replaced our Vermont Castings stove, which served us well for 33 years, with a Jotul F500, about 6 years ago.

I didn't know what I had been missing. Features that were new to us included side loading (up to 24", but I rarely go over 20"), as well as front loading...bottom ash door and clean out tray...large glass front window. It has been 100% reliable with no maintenance required, except cleaning the inside of the glass from time to time.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[heavy hammer]

Every region has it's pluses and minuses with the wood they have. If it puts out heat and is dry you are good. I have more black locust and hardwood to burn then most but I burn a lot of cedar and it burns hot. I heat my house on cedar for a lot of the heating season. Some woods may last longer through their burn stages but heat is heat.

 

[ovrszd]

Gas fired radiant floor heating is about as even a heat as you'll ever feel, and very efficient. No hot and cold pockets of air in a room. The heat is down where you are, not up at the ceiling, either.

Heated my old shop primarily with wood, secondary forced air propane. Heat my current shop with hydronic radiant floor heat. Only thing I miss is coming in cold and backing up to the warm wood stove. Otherwise, I agree. The floor heat excels in every area, including installation cost if you are buying your wood stove.

 

[ovrszd]

This does everything I need:

.

Yeah but you don't count because you live in Hawaii.

 

[dnw64]

Pound for pound, there are the same BTU's in any species.

I don't believe that's true.

LPG, Gasoline, Diesel, Kerosene and Jet A all have very different energy outputs per pound even though they are all as similar as differing wood species.

For wood specifically, see G545 Wood Fuel for Heating | University of Missouri Extension

One pound of oven-dry wood of any hardwood species has an available heat value of about 8,600 Btu. Resinous softwood species, such as shortleaf pine, tend to average slightly higher at 9,050 Btu per oven-dry pound.

...not that anyone sells, or measures, firewood by the pound. If we did, you can be very sure that the demand for moisture meters would suddenly skyrocket.

 

[dnw64]

I'll burn pine or spruce in the stove in my shop. It burns hot & fast, and that's what I want when I'm only in there for a few hours at a given time ...

Most sugaring operations use a heavy (if not exclusive) amount of pine exactly for that reason.

 

[bunyip]

Got free pine some years ago and found it clogged up the flue with a fine grey feather like soot, easy to get out but happened often.
Now we only use pine for starting as we have a lot of cypress down, once going we use a variety of eucalypts most of which are a very narly grain and knotty, love that 30 ton splitter but it still struggles on some of the more twisted grain.

 

[CalG]

I don't believe that's true.

LPG, Gasoline, Diesel, Kerosene and Jet A all have very different energy outputs per pound even though they are all as similar as differing wood species.

For wood specifically, see G545� Wood Fuel for Heating | University of Missouri Extension



...not that anyone sells, or measures, firewood by the pound. If we did, you can be very sure that the demand for moisture meters would suddenly skyrocket.

8600 is so close to 9050 as to be considered under "operator influence". But true, It is more BTUs that is the basis of my previous comment.

 

[CalG]

Got free pine some years ago and found it clogged up the flue with a fine grey feather like soot, easy to get out but happened often.
Now we only use pine for starting as we have a lot of cypress down, once going we use a variety of eucalypts most of which are a very narly grain and knotty, love that 30 ton splitter but it still struggles on some of the more twisted grain.

Your pine likely grew upside down compared to NA white, yellow or Norway pine. It likely didn't burn hot enough to clear it's own "feathers".
Don't you have problems with draft? All the flues pointing down and all ;-)

 

[heavy hammer]

There is definitely a difference in firewood BTU ratings.

FIREWOOD BTU OF EASTERN HARDWOOD SPECIES
Inconsistency between charts may exist due to different laboratory variables

Species Million BTU’s per Cord Pounds Per Cord Dry
Osage Orange 32.9 4728
Shagbark Hickory 27.7 4327
Eastern Hornbeam 27.1 4016
Black Birch 26.8 3890
Black Locust 26.8 3890
Blue Beech 26.8 3890
Ironwood 26.8 3890
Bitternut Hickory 26.5 3832
Honey Locust 26.5 4100
Apple 25.8 3712
Mulberry 25.7 4012
Beech 24.0 3757
Northern Red Oak 24.0 3757
Sugar Maple 24.0 3757
White Oak 24.0 3757
White Ash 23.6 3689
Yellow Birch 21.8 3150
Red Elm 21.6 3112
Hackberry 20.8 3247
Kentucky Coffeetree 20.8 3247
Gray Birch 20.3 3179
Paper Birch 20.3 3179
White Birch 20.2 3192
Black Walnut 20.0 3120
Cherry 20.0 3120
Green Ash 19.9 2880
Black Cherry 19.5 2880
American Elm 19.5 3052
White Elm 19.5 3052
Sycamore 19.1 2992
Black Ash 18.7 2924
Red Maple (Soft Maple) 18.1 2900
Boxelder 17.9 2797
Catalpa 15.9 2482
Aspen 14.7 2295
Butternut 14.5 2100
Willow 14.3 2236
Cottonwood 13.5 2108
American Basswood 13.5 2108
FIREWOOD BTU OF EASTERN SOFTWOOD SPECIES
Inconsistency between charts may exist due to different laboratory variables

Species Million BTU’s per Cord Pounds Per Cord Dry
Rocky Mountain Juniper 21.6 3112
Tamarack 20.8 3247
Jack Pine 17.1 2669
Norway Pine 17.1 2669
Pitch Pine 17.1 2669
Hemlock 15.9 2482
Black Spruce 15.9 2482
Eastern White Pine 14.3 2236
Balsam Fir 14.3 2236
Eastern White Cedar 12.2 1913
Eastern Red Cedar